Editorials, letters to the editor, and other community opinions about Santa Monica.
No corner of the state has been untouched by California’s homelessness crisis: the most recent count found that Los Angeles County has more than 65,000 homeless individuals and families, including more than 800 in Santa Monica–and that’s almost certainly a…
Already convinced? All donations are tax deductible and can be made at Donor Box or Patreon. Santa Monica Next relaunched this week as a progressive non-profit news voice for a progressive city. Unlike its previous five year run between 2013…
At tonight’s meeting, the Santa Monica City Council is expected to vote on whether or not to approve a contract with BIG Outdoor, an electronic billboard company, for a 20-year contract to own, operate, and collect revenue off of “interactive”…
During the 2020 campaign for Santa Monica City Council, the “Change Slate” swept into power promising to support the police department and to limit new housing development. Three members of the slate were elected, Phil Brock, Christine Parra and Oscar…
As part of a new feature, James Pocrass a personal injury lawyer with the firm POCRASS AND DE LOS REYES LLC will answer questions submitted by you, our readers, that are submitted in the comments section below or over social…
We received the following letter from Mayor Ted Winterer asking us to pass along to our readers. Summer is officially here and I am sure you’ve noticed the seasonal changes that take shape in our community as we all enjoy…
As my friend and publisher, Damien Newton, noted in a recent post, I am moving on after four years as editor of Santa Monica Next. It has certainly been a transformative experience for me. And to my readers, I hope…
By Homa Motjabi. Mojtabai is a Massachusetts-bred, Santa Monica-based writer and public servant. Read more of her work at her website. Parking is a hot topic in seemingly progressive Santa Monica – with a second reading and adoption of an ordinance scheduled to go…
This originally appeared at The Healthy City Local. It’s been a while since I’ve written about a specific development project in Santa Monica. About a year ago I was busy writing articles about the Downtown Community Plan (DCP), and after that…
The following post originally appeared on The Healthy City Local. (Note: I haven’t written here about Santa Monica politics since my last blog last summer on the Downtown Community Plan, but I was invited to give a 20-minute talk to the…
This letter originally appeared at santamonica.gov. Dear Community Members: Over the last several months we have experienced a series of high profile events in Santa Monica, coupled by an increase in overall crime. Naturally, this has caused concern among many…
The following originally appeared on Streetsblog L.A. It is by David Levitus. Levitus earned his Ph.D. at USC with a focus on the history of cities, policy, and politics in the United States. At NYU, he majored in Economics and History. He is…
The following letter was sent by Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati. Dear SMMUSD staff, parents and community members, Our hearts go out to the families and staff involved in yesterday’s tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High…
Last month, State Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) released a draft of his legislation, Senate Bill 827, which would upend zoning rules throughout California. The bill, aimed at making it easier to build housing at a time when the state…
The following post is by Kevin Herrera, sr. marketing & communication manager for Downtown Santa Monica, Inc. It originally appeared on Santa Monica Centric. Downtown seems to be littered with them. On almost every street corner you can find a Bird…
